An Ode to Divorce - Chapter 88

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#88

‘If the twins participate in the battle, the damage might be greater than I thought…’

As Eurich’s thoughts deepened,

“…Aren’t the Tindal twins those heroes who were active in the Argos Expedition? This won’t go wrong, will it?”

Someone among the quiet assassins asked with concern. Eurich, noticing who had asked the question, frowned in annoyance. Soon, a handsome man with long silver hair emerged from among the assassins.

It was Hippolytus, a high priest of Artume and Eurich’s collaborator. Hippolytus pressed Eurich while unable to hide his anxious expression.

“Didn’t you say we only needed to deal with one bard? But why are there so many assassins…?”

“It would be better not to dig too deep, Hippolytus. How about continuing as before—asking nothing, pretending to reluctantly comply with my requests, and acting like you know nothing?”

“…”

Hippolytus bit his lower lip in frustration. Unable to contain his rising anger, Hippolytus retorted.

“But this is different from what we originally discussed! I never heard that so many assassins would storm into the Boundary Forest! Surely if this many people cause a commotion, the Artume Temple will immediately send people!”

The Boundary Forest was the closest forest to the Ceryneia Forest. Of course, there was distance so news wouldn’t reach immediately, but it wasn’t far enough to be completely at ease.

However, Eurich spoke shamelessly without any concern.

“Then you’ll have to stop them.”

“What? If that happens, I’ll be the first one suspected when this matter is revealed later!”

“That’s only if it gets revealed. If you don’t mind our relationship being exposed, there’s no need to stop them. If I get caught by Artume followers who notice the commotion, I’ll spill everything about you.”

“You…!”

Hippolytus’s face turned bright red at Eurich’s mocking words. Eurich poked Hippolytus’s chest with his index finger and sneered.

“The invisibility potion, the guardian of the sacred beast kidnapping the sacred beast’s offspring, and even luring Orphea to this place… The Artume Temple would feel quite betrayed. Don’t you think?”

“So this was why you forced me to become the forest guardian—to use me like this.”

“And you’ve been respected and happy all this time because of it. Isn’t that all thanks to me?”

“Thanks to you? What nonsense are you talking about!”

Hippolytus’s fists trembled as he suppressed his anger. In the explosive situation where Hippolytus seemed ready to slap Eurich’s cheek at any moment, Eurich suddenly changed his attitude as easily as flipping his palm. Eurich embraced Hippolytus affectionately, as if his sharp aggression from moments before was a lie, and whispered softly in his ear.

“But if you help me just a little more, they won’t know anything. Neither that you helped me, nor that a priest of god who must remain pure is actually…”

“Eurich!”

Before Eurich could finish, Hippolytus pushed him away with a face that had turned from red to deathly pale, shouting.

The pushed Eurich smiled knowingly, as if he had expected such a reaction, and tapped Hippolytus’s chest with his fist.

“So please take care of it. What’s the point of being friends otherwise?”

“…You’re no longer my friend. What kind of friend would hold their friend’s weakness and exploit it?”

“Didn’t you know? That’s what friendship is originally like. Family relationships are the same…”

Hippolytus’s eyes wavered with resentment as he looked at Eurich’s indifferent response. He wanted to escape the leash around his neck as soon as possible, but thinking of the blackmail material in Eurich’s hands, he had no choice but to be helplessly exploited like this.

The only hope Hippolytus had was what Eurich had promised as payment for this task.

“…Fine. Anyway, I’ve done my best, so make sure to keep your promise to end our relationship after this matter is finished.”

“Ah. Of course.”

Eurich answered with a slight smile, but Hippolytus didn’t even look at his expression and immediately turned away with a cold wind. Watching Hippolytus’s retreating figure, Eurich muttered a curse under his breath.

“Anyway, such a nagging nuisance.”

Hippolytus’s attitude was annoying, but he would handle the work perfectly. The plan would proceed without the slightest hitch.

“Anyway, now that the stage is set, I just need to wait for Orphea to crawl here on her own.”

A sinister smile spread across Eurich’s lips. Imagining Orphea groveling before him and begging for her life, and Gert despairing over Orphea’s death, filled him with deep satisfaction.

***

How long had Eurich been waiting, hidden among the shadows of the densely hanging tree branches with the assassins?

Just before sunset, a carriage boldly entered the Boundary Forest.

On the driver’s seat of the carriage bearing Artume’s banner sat a coachman and one of the Tindal twins with dark green hair.

It matched the information they had received.

An assassin waiting beside Eurich asked quietly.

“Shall we attack?”

“Not yet, I still can’t be certain…”

It wouldn’t be too late to move after confirming that the target, Orphea, was inside the carriage. Eurich waited a little longer.

Unaware of the watching eyes from afar, the carriage rattled along the dirt road. Then the carriage jolted as it hit a tree root protruding from the ground, shaking the person inside.

Through the carriage window, ivory-colored hair and a lyre were briefly visible.

It was Orphea.

Having identified his target, Eurich immediately gave the signal. As soon as Eurich’s gesture fell, the assassins kicked off from the tree branches where they had been hiding, their ears firmly sealed with prepared earplugs.

A tremendous number of assassins rushed toward the carriage. Thanks to concealing their presence, those in the carriage seemed not to have noticed their approach yet.

‘The coachman and horses first.’

The assassins who leaped toward the carriage attacked the driver’s seat first.

Whoosh!

Clang!

But the assassin’s attack didn’t work.

“Who goes there!”

It was because one of the Tindarga twins had quickly noticed the attack on the carriage and immediately moved.

In the twin’s hand, which had been empty just moments before, was now a long axe-spear.

It was Keraunos, one of the two divine weapons passed down in the Tindal Count’s family, capable of adjusting its length at will.

The twin, who had instantly turned around to deflect the assassins’ attacks, swung the axe-spear at the assassins attacking him from the driver’s seat.

Whooooosh!

Slash!

“Argh!”

The spear that had instantly lengthened cut down the assassins. As soon as the assassins’ corpses tumbled under the carriage, new assassins attacked.

The twin tried to block the attacks repeatedly, but one dagger finally broke through his defense. The dagger that slipped through struck the rump of the horse pulling the carriage.

Thunk!

“Neigh!”

“Whoa, whoa!”

The horse, startled by the sudden pain, reared up and the carriage jolted. The coachman hurriedly tried to calm the horse, but with the sharp sound of clashing weapons right above his head, his neck naturally shrank like a turtle’s.

The twin urged the coachman while deflecting the pouring attacks from assassins.

“Get out of here quickly! We just need to reach the Ceryneia Forest!”

“Understood!”

Diiiing——.

At the same time, a heavy melody flowed from inside the carriage. Music that vibrated the air with a tingling resonance.

It seemed Orphea had grasped the situation and begun playing her lyre.

‘…But it won’t work.’

Eurich’s lips curved upward. The reason the assassins, who needed close cooperation, deliberately blocked their ears while attacking was entirely to neutralize Orphea’s attack.

Orphea’s music was powerful enough to instantly drain fighting spirit from hostile opponents and quickly win over passing animals to become friendly allies.

But this had a critical weakness: difficulty in distinguishing friend from foe. Even when trying to render enemies helpless with music, allies listening to the song in the same place would also become helpless.

What the expedition had thought of then was the beeswax earplugs they had used to block the Sirens’ song. Thanks to the earplugs, they could freely attack weakened monsters without being affected by Orphea’s song.

Later, Orphea composed songs that didn’t require allies to wear earplugs, so they gradually stopped using them, but the precedent that earplugs could block Orphea’s songs was firmly established.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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